Candida krusei: aspectos atuais sobre epidemiologia, fatores de virulência e resistência antifúngica

Abstract

Candidiasis is the term used to name the diverse range of infections caused by the species of the Candida genus. Among the Candida spp. that cause opportunistic infections, Candida krusei is one of the main species that has been gaining attention in the clinical scenario of opportunistic infections caused by yeasts. This is because it is intrinsically resistant to fluconazole and it cells show low susceptibility to other classes of commonly used antifungal drugs, such as amphotericin B, flucytocin and echinocandins. It is commonly isolated from patients reporting previous therapy with fluconazole, immunocompromised and those with hematological malignancies, who are predisposed to develop resistant and invasive C. krusei infections. Therefore, this literature review aims to describe the current biological aspects, as well as to analyze the predisposing factors to cause C. krusei infections, in addition to investigate the expression of virulence factors, the mechanisms involved in in antifungal resistance and the importance of fast and acurate identification of this species, which may favor early effective antifungal treatment.